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Women!

Save Fri., May 2 6:30-8:30 p.m.

for a very special Women’s Event! Bring your mother, daughter, sister, neighbor, friend!

Grace United Methodist Church 300 E. Gartner Rd. Naperville, IL 60540-7424

Non-profit Organization

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

NAPERVILLE, IL

PERMIT NO. 75

Address Service Requested

Our People Sympathies to the Friends and Family of…

Virginia Biegon, mother of David Biegon Richard Capek, father of Ray Capek Paul Jankowski, father of Dawn Larson Ray Kimble, cousin of Barbara Slaby Gretchen Morris, aunt of Sherry Noorlag Susan Stuckey, friend of Jill Ridder Elaine Taylor, relative of Sherry Noorlag Roy Wickert, father of Aaron Wickert and Melissa Krzyzanowski Edna Williams, aunt of Ron Wills

Celebrations and Congratulations

Sloane Charlotte Newport, daughter of Garth and Lindsay Newport and granddaughter of Steve and Polly Correll, was born on December 26 Dorotha Bender celebrated her 93rd birthday on January 29; send greetings to 1520 Killdeer Dr., Naperville, IL 60565 Lee Rowe celebrated her 92nd birthday on February 2; send greetings to 21038 W. Hazelnut Ln., Plainfield, IL 60544 Colin Riley was a top three finalist in Chicago Athlete magazine’s “Athlete of the Year” contest

Letter of Thanks

Thank you to the congregation for a successful “CIN” Sunday on January 26. We raised over $1,000 for youth missions trips. We are very grateful for the generous support from our congregation, especially coming out on a snowy, cold morning! —Liz Schmuckal

Save the

Date!

Due to limited space in this issue of Grace Notes, our “Animal Attraction” feature will return next month.

March Deadline News deadline for the March issue of Grace Notes is earlier, due

to a joint mailing with the Lent booklet:

Monday, Feb. 17 Send to barbceruti@ peopleofgrace.org or bring to church office.

Gather to Christ Grow as Disciples Go to Serve Grace Notes

A Communications Ministry of Grace United Methodist Church February 2014

his issue of Grace Notes is half its usual size because next month’s issue will be included in a joint mailing with the 2014 Lenten booklet of devo-tions. This annual booklet is written

by members of our church family for the season of Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday, March 5. You should receive this mailing during the last week of February. Please note: everyone will receive a hard copy of the March newsletter, even those who have requested to access it online only.

At right is a schedule of our Wednesday evening Lenten activities, beginning with Ash Wednesday worship on March 5, 7:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. Returning again this year are Wednesday evening Lenten suppers in Fellowship Hall at 6:00 p.m., followed by various activities through April 9. On Wednesday, March 12, we’ll have a Seder Meal with our friends from Congregation Beth Shalom. Please join us on Wednesday evenings during Lent, as we explore this year’s theme of “Giving and For-giving.” Next month, look for a commitment form to fill out and return regarding the things you wish to give and forgive, along with prayer requests for our prayer wall in the Sanctuary.

If you would like to take part in Pastor Bob’s or any of our small group studies of the all-church Lenten study book Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace, by Miro-slav Volf, copies are available for purchase in the church office ($10 per copy).

“Love Opens Doors” Session V This Sunday From Revs. Don Niswonger and Carol Findon

This Sunday, February 9, “Lead With Love” welcomes Bishop Sharon Rader (at left) to “Love Opens Doors,” the fifth in our series explor-ing the intentional inclusion of LGBT persons at Grace. Bishop Rader will explore “Tradition and Reason” in

the United Methodist Church. She is cur-rently the ecumenical officer for the Council of

Bishops and has been a member of the General Council on Ministries, the General Commission on Communica-tions, the General Board of Higher Education and Minis-try, and the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women. She has a wealth of knowledge on the UMC tradition throughout its history.

Our sixth and final session, “Creating a Welcoming Faith Community” will be on Sunday, March 9. Rev. Dr. Bon-nie Beckonchrist will lead us in a discussion of what it means to be a welcoming church and a reconciling congre-gation, whereby persons of the LGBT community receive full inclusion, and justice prevails at Grace UMC.

All “Love Opens Doors” sessions begin with brunch at 10:30 a.m. in Fellowship Hall, followed by the program at 11:00. All are welcome!

Healing Prayer/Oils This Month Saturdays, Feb. 8 and 22, 5:00 p.m. in the Activity Center Sunday, Feb. 9, during the closing hymn at 8:15/9:30 and at the end of 11:00 worship - Chapel

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Pastor’s Journal

One of the strengths of the United Methodist Church, of which Grace is a part, is the itinerant ministry of its pastors. The Bishop of each region or area appoints, or sends, pastors to serve in local churches or other ministries. The strength lies in the opportunity to make the best match between a pastor’s gifts and graces and the needs of a local congregation or a new church in development.

The downside of this process of making the best possible appointments of pastors is that the needs of one local church may override the desires or needs of another. Bishop Sally Dyck has announced that our Pastor Lisa Telomen will be the lead pastor at First United Methodist Church of LaGrange beginning July 1. Their current pastor, Adison Shields, will retire on that date. In the appointive process, vacancies do not last long. The Bishop works hard to make sure needs are filled. We did not ask for a move, but LaGrange needs Pastor Lisa’s leadership.

Our Staff-Parish Relations Committee has already been meeting to explore how Grace will proceed. They will confer with our District Superintendent, Rev. Dick Wisdom, and with Bishop Dyck to discern the best plan to replace Pastor Lisa on the Grace Ministry team.

We covet your prayers for this leadership transition at Grace. This is a big change for Pastor Lisa and her family. Let us surround the whole Telomen family with prayer as they prepare for a move in June. Let us also pray for our Church leaders and Bishop in the discernment process for the pastoral leadership of Grace going forward.

Grace and Peace,

February 2014

In November I wrote about the opportunity we have, like our trees in autumn, to end the year with a splash of col-orful gratitude, passing on the abundance of blessings God has given us to the world around us. I want to thank you for doing just that! By my count of people who engaged in mission through our many December activi-ties, at least 750 gave to at least one of the many Christ-mas giving opportunities we had at Grace! And that is a conservative count! Many took part in several of the giving opportunities – and so many were blessed through us! Many gifts of love were given, and much love was shared from the people of Grace with the world. Thank you so much for shar-ing the abundance of Grace with others! I want to thank you also for the abundance of grace you have shared in my life and my family’s life as

well. Hard to believe, but this is our ninth year here! Our younger son Jeff has grown from third grade into his junior year of high school here, and our older son Christopher is now poised to graduate from college. We have shared in sickness and in health, for better and for worse, and have loved and cherished our time to-gether with all of you.

Many of you know that my time as pastor at Grace will end on June 30, and on July 1, I will begin as sole pastor at LaGrange First UMC. While I was not seeking a new appointment this year, this one has been given to me, presenting me with won-derful opportunities to share from the wealth of learning and growing I have done at Grace and in prior appoint-ments. It also presents me with a wonderful opportuni-ty to learn from the wealth of First UMC, LaGrange’s

experience, and to grow with them. We are hoping and praying that this will be-come a wonderful learning opportunity for our son Jeff, who is choosing to complete high school in our new loca-tion. We know that the blessings of Grace and Na-perville schools have helped him to mature well and to become the person of Grace that he is.

Since my appointment change is still rather far off, I am thinking we can still reap many blessings with the stud-ies and events of this Lenten season together and delay the leave-taking and farewells ‘til after Easter. We have much still to share and enjoy before we have to say good-bye. In this respect, I am fortunate it is an early ap-pointment announcement! In our Lenten study book (which I have started with staff and my neighborhood), author Miroslav Volf pre-

sents the Christian, counter-cultural perspective that life is about giving and forgiving and growing into our God-given identity as generous givers and forgivers in life. This is going to be a very thoughtful and fruitful study for us, as we examine our lives in light of how God is blessing us and how we are blessing others. I look for-ward to sharing this study with you this Lenten season, as we meditate upon the greatest gift God has given us in the life, death and resur-rection of Jesus Christ. May we walk closer to him this March and April, as we share with each other in our book study, Lenten activities, art-work and prayers.

Blessed to be on the journey of faith with you,

By Pastor Lisa Telomen Appointed to First UMC in LaGrange, beginning July 1

3 February 2014

Our Grace Building Committee is mak-ing steady progress with our slate of projects. Grace members have kept pace with pledges, and we are actually a bit ahead on receipts as we begin 2014. The phone/paging system is working well, and we can anticipate that many of the con-nectivity features for accessing voice mail and transferring messages to mobile devices and home locations will become effective tools.

We’re considering utilizing Network Management Services, now that our computer network is becoming the focus of the GUMC “nervous system.” The network is the channel for our phone system, staff communications and office work, security cameras, content manage-ment for our website, and more to come down the road. Hiring a service provider to monitor operations, troubleshoot problems, and maintain network soft-ware and configuration up to date should ensure security and reliability.

We have begun the fire alarm system upgrade project and expect to have a review of plans completed by the Naper-ville Fire Department shortly. The pro-ject will involve placing many new heat sensors throughout the building and in-stalling a new “intelligent” alarm panel that can pinpoint the location and nature of an active alarm. This project has been re-quoted substantially below the origi-nal budget due to reduced labor and equipment estimates.

Our HVAC project, while still in early stages, is progressing. Our plan is to en-gage an engineering firm to assist with design development, bid process support for design-build contractors, and then ongoing project oversight support. Our classroom area has been reviewed to assess existing ducts, thermostats, and heating coils for future use in the new system. The electric coils for each class-room that enable thermostat control in each class had previously been discon-

nected due to difficulty in managing the settings. With a new control system, we anticipate we’ll be able to make effective use of this equipment. This will address problems with heating and cooling in the classroom areas. We are targeting instal-lation of the new system in Spring 2015. We have received input from Grace members concerning the importance of attending to the parking lot issues soon-er rather than later, so efforts have been made to refresh our quotes for resurfac-ing to see what can be done.

Progress In Our Building Projects By John Bodine, Building Committee Chair

5th House Ensemble Sat., FEB. 22, 7:00 p.m. “Invoking the Muses” $12/$10/$5 (adults/seniors 65+/students) Tickets at peopleofgrace.org/concerts

God has endowed each of us with particular strengths as well as certain needs. The Grace Open Doors Ministry (ODM) focuses on how those strengths and needs can com-plement each other in the contributions that each of us can make in the congregation and community.

Our theme for this year’s Open Doors Sunday on February 23 at all three worship services is “God Shines Through Each of Us,” emphasizing the blessings that come from faith and persever-ance, helping our God-given talents and gifts to shine through in spite of our adver-sities. Open Doors Sunday

services will feature the key-board duo of Scott Griffin and Alan Tripp, whom we enjoyed here in concert on March 22, 2013. Scott and Alan will also speak to us about their faith and experiences in overcom-ing their own health challenges and convey a message of en-couragement, hope, and ac-ceptance for those with spe-cial needs. Says Alan, who was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome as a child, “I want to reach out to people with disabilities...I want to share the joy I have that God has given me through the gift of music.” This is sure to be an inspirational event for the en-tire congregation!

Four New Titles In ODM Collection

The Grace Church Library is

pleased to announce the addi-tion of four new titles to its Open Doors Ministry collec-tion. They are The Ultimate Guide to Sensory Processing Disorder: Easy, Everyday Solu-tions to Sensory Challenges, by Roya Ostovar, Ph.D.; Au-tism Every Day: Over 150 Strategies Lived and Learned by a Professional Autism Con-sultant with 3 Sons on the Spectrum, by Alyson Beytien, M.S.; How to Teach Life Skills to Kids with Autism or Asper-ger’s, by Jennifer McIlwee

Myers (with a foreward by Temple Grandin); and Autism, Asperger’s, ADDHD, ADD? : A Parent’s Roadmap to Understanding and Sup-port, by Diane Drake Burns. The ODM collection is intend-ed to be a resource for teach-ers, youth leaders, parents, and all interested others with-in our church community. We look forward to sharing these resources with you on Open Doors Sunday, February 23.

Feb. 23 Open Doors Sunday Features Keyboard Duo Scott & Alan, Message of Hope By Mark and Laurel Fleming, ODM Chairs, and Angela McCurdy, Library Committee

Two of four new titles in the ODM library collection.

Oak Tree to Be Removed After an inspection and report by a tree specialist early last month, the Trustees have determined that the large oak tree outside the children’s play area on the south side of the church will have to be removed within the next few weeks. The danger it presents to both people and autos in the nearby parking cannot be ignored. Jack Staton